Five great vows

Nonviolence, truthfulness, non-stealing, chastity, and non-attachment structure Jain ethics.

73%

Confidence

Supportive

Contrary

Neutral

What it is: The five great vows are ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya, and aparigraha.

How the tradition understands it: For monks and nuns, they are followed in a very rigorous form; for laypeople, there are adapted versions. These vows organize moral life and spiritual discipline.

Textual basis and context: Jain ethics was strongly structured by this set of vows and by their detailed applications.

Debates and variations: The gradation of observance between laypeople and monastics is an important part of the tradition.

Supportive

Aparigraha in Jain texts

jainism,aparigraha,detachment,ethics

Detachment and non-possession as spiritual principles.

Reference: Various Jain sources, including ethical and canonical treatises on aparigraha.
Content: The principle of non-possession seeks to reduce attachment, violence, and the accumulation of karma.
Use in debate: It is central to Jain monastic and lay ethics.

Ratnakaranda Shravakachara

jainism,laity,vows,ethics

A classical manual for Jain lay ethics.

Reference: Ratnakaranda Shravakachara.
Content: The work describes the vows and duties of the Jain layperson.
Use in debate: It is important for understanding gradations between lay and monastic life.

Tattvartha Sutra 7.1

jainism,vows,ethics,tattvartha-sutra

The five principal vows.

Reference: Tattvartha Sutra 7.1 and nearby sections.
Content: The text presents the great vows that structure Jain ethics.
Use in debate: It is a classical basis for Jain religious morality.